An Unexpected Find
by hellosunlightsetmeup
Summary: At Northwestern, Grace Manning is in her sophomore year, and fall finals are approaching as she steps out for a coffee. Out of nowhere, she sees someone she thought she would never see again and her life is suddenly turned upside down. Grace/August.
1. August

_An Unexpected Find by Kris_

_Summary: At Northwestern, Grace Manning is in her sophomore year, and fall finals are approaching as she steps out for a coffee. Out of nowhere, she sees someone she thought she would never see again and her life is suddenly turned upside down. Grace/August._

_Disclaimer: All characters are__ from__ the television show, "Once and Again"__, and do not belong to me. They appear in this story solely for writing and entertainment purposes, and no profit whatsoever is being made from this story_

_Rating: PG-13 for a majority of the time, but MA in some select chapters._

_Note: Story in first-person narrative with Grace.  
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Winter break was only a week away, but I was too busy with finals to really recognize it and share the same anticipation about it that my roommate had. I had a Math final and Acting final on Tuesday, an English final on Wednesday, and a Sociology final on Thursday. Luckily, I had stocked up on food so I could barely leave the room and still maintain a regular diet. Well, as much of a regular diet as one can try for on a college campus. Nevertheless, I was closed off from the greater society, and I actually sort of liked it. I got more sleep during that four day weekend than I think I have ever gotten over a four day period of time. I did not forget to brush my teeth in the morning once, I did all of my laundry, and I cleaned the room from top to bottom, even Caroline's things as well. So, when I finally did step out of my room and my dorm on Monday night for a cup of overpriced coffee at the Starbucks across the street, I felt confident and worry free. It was an odd feeling, I must admit, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

It was about six when I entered the coffee shop; the thick winter air and the darkness that came with turned back clocks made it seem later though. I took off my hat as I got in line, running a hand over my hair immediately afterwards to make sure it was alright and nothing was sticking up. I waited patiently in line, distracted by the man in front of me. His hair was long and a reddish shade which instantly seemed to remind me of Mr. Dimitri. It had been a while since my thoughts had been lent to Mr. Dimitri; even though, it was at least three years ago, it still hurt to think about him, to think about what we had and what we lost. So, I did not think about him; I would not allow myself to fixate on him any longer.

As the line continued to shift upwards toward the counter further at twenty second intervals, I moved along with it, naturally. "Just a large black coffee, please.", I heard him say. His voice hit me like a thousand stinging chords; it hit me in my chest. My curiosity was now heightened, and despite telling myself that it could not possibly be him, that I was being delusional, I could not resist speaking up. "Mr. Dimitri." I meant to say it casually, but instead, it came out of me in a whisper and almost as a plea as well, almost as if I suddenly needed it to be him. The woman behind me in line looked at me impatiently as the man who I believed to be Mr. Dimitri had simply moved aside, and the woman at the register was waiting to take my order. I stepped forward with my head held low, only looking up for a second to order a small café mocha and feeling like a fool as I did so. The man beside me was looking at me then; I could feel his eyes on me. I looked up to give him a sheepish smile in hopes of extinguishing his burning gaze. When I did, I could not believe my eyes. It _was_ him.

In really seeing my face, his eyes went wide for a moment before he just smiled a bit in his mild confusion. I was instantly reminded of how attractive a calm man could be to me above all other things. My jaw dropped and I could not really think beyond that though. A mess of noise came from the woman at the register, I assume to inform me to pay for my drink, I could not respond though. He, surprisingly, just stepped forward once again and paid for me with his credit card. Even though I loved his calm, I did not know how he was not fazed by my sudden appearance in his life once again; I feared, for a moment, that it was because he did not remember me completely or he did not care for me as deeply as I had thought. He took my coffee and his in one hand though, and my hand in his other. I moved along with him to a table in both choice and necessity, before the woman behind me in line pushed me over.

"Mr. Dimitri. I…I'm so sorry. You didn't have to…I…" My eyes welled up suddenly and my chest started to ache. I felt like I was just going to break down. God, this was all happening so quick. He kept his hand on mine across the table; his thumb soothingly ran over my palm. "Grace. Grace, it's ok." His voice made me feel like nothing had changed, like no time had passed from that night in his kitchen; his voice was still so warm and undemanding. "And it's August." I looked to his hand on mine on the table before my eyes met his once again. A tear fell from my eye and he leaned forward to kiss me. I was surprised by it, and for a moment I thought it had to be a dream, but I kissed him back softly regardless. "Don't cry." he said softly against my lips before pulling back. I didn't know whether to just embrace the moment or pinch myself to wake up.

"How is this…? It's been almost three years." I asked carefully. He had to have somebody else by now, a real girlfriend. He was attractive, smart, and charming. Even with three years past, he still looked the same, maybe even better than I remembered. "Three years of nonstop writing thanks to you." he replied. A moment later he spoke up again. "Was that not the right thing to do? You know, the kiss." I was not with anyone else, nor did I want to be with anyone else with him suddenly in my life again. Of course, that was assuming that by the kiss, he wanted to be in my life again, and he could be in my life again. "No. It was the right thing. I just wasn't expecting it. Uh…what are you even doing here?"

"Buying a cup of coffee, so I can keep writing." he said with a wide grin. He could tease. I knew he always tried to watch himself around me in the past, but there were still a few moments that slipped through his guard, moments where he teased me. He continued a moment later. "I moved out here a couple months after everything. I'm in an apartment a few blocks away. I'm guessing you're here for college?" I could not believe it; I had already wasted a whole year at college with him no more than 'a few blocks away'. I responded simply, "Yeah."

I did not know what else to say. To be honest, I just wanted to kiss him again. I did not feel like the three years had changed him; I knew they had changed me a fair deal, but I was sure that nothing could ever change the way I felt about him. I looked into his eyes again, feeling as if I could just tell him everything that way. We stared into each other's eyes and it seemed like time had stopped. He finally kissed me again a moment later. It was a longer kiss than the first but still as sweet and gentle. His free hand came up to cup my cheek. His skin was a bit rough, but his hand still felt amazing, even if it was just on my cheek. God, it felt so good to do that and to know that no one could tell us we were wrong for it, or stop us. I know it all sounds so corny, but it felt so good to be free with him. "Did I miss much?" He asked, finally pulling back once again. "No." I responded quickly. "We can't just pick up where we left off." He said, sort of questionably. "Can't we?" I asked with a bit of a grin before wiping my eyes with a napkin. I could only hope my mascara was not running.


	2. As Long as You're Mine

It was funny. The first thing I thought when I walked into his apartment was how it looked exactly like his house, only much smaller and…smoke scented? "You smoke?" I dared to ask as he came up behind me and tugged my coat off me to hang it up. My eyes were still skimming over the room. "Occasionally when I write. I'm not a chain smoker or anything though. Does that bother you?" No, it didn't. In fact, it sort of just made him more attractive, which is surprising considering how I used to hate how James would smoke. "No, just wondering." I replied as I moved over to his big bookshelf in the left corner of the apartment. "You do that a lot, don't you?" He teased once more, following me over to the bookshelf. He stood behind me with a hand on my hip. I swear, if I could fully describe what that hand did to me, I would, but I can not. "See anything interesting? Anything you want to steal?" I laughed a little and turned on my heel a bit to face him once again. "Not yet, though I doubt any of this is as interesting as what I stole last time." His eyes got a little dark then, and his other hand settled on the other side of my hip. I looked up at him with curious eyes, and thought that, for just a second, he wanted me.

So, I kissed him, feeling so much more confident and secure than I had the last time _I _hadkissed _him_. His hand quickly came back to my cheek and my arm came up around his neck. He was a bit taller than me, but he almost sort of pulled me up to him, so there was no problem. I deepened the kiss in no time as I had been waiting to do for almost three years now. I kissed him aggressively with my tongue loosely twisting with his. It was almost like I was drinking him down completely. It was almost too good to be true.

I felt his one hand tighten on my hip as he pulled me closer to him before moving backwards towards the bed with small steps. I guess I did not need to ask this time; I guess he was not afraid this time. My one arm stayed around his neck while the other came around to his back. For a brief moment, I could not help but wonder if my roommate would worry about where I disappeared to, especially knowing how it was the night before my first day of finals, but I was not going to stop to call her now. We continued kissing until he drew back a little and his hand lightly tilted my head back. His kisses trailed down from my lips, to my jaw, my ear, and then down my neck. He was incredibly gentle and passionate about the whole thing. In feeling his hot breath and wet lips on my neck, I moaned out softly and closed my eyes. So happy to please it seemed, he continued. His kisses soon became much rougher as I assumed he was looking to leave a bruise on me. A shiver went down my spine as he bit my neck and sucked on the tender skin so feverishly. "God…" I murmured a little breathlessly.

His feet hit the front of the bed then, but he did not stop. He continued to spoil me with kisses and tugged on my sweater as if he wanted it off. I waited until his kisses reached my chest. Then, with a finger under his chin, I pushed his lips back up to mine. I kissed him once before moving back just an inch to lift off my sweater. For no particular reason, but obviously much to his delight, I had my black pushup bra on. He swiftly spun me around then, and his hand drifted down to the small of my back to gently tip me back onto the bed. "Not afraid?" I asked, teasing him a little but also making sure he really wanted this. I really wanted this, but I wanted to be sure that he did. "Are you?" He asked as he unbuttoned his shirt. "No, not at all." I replied confidently as I leaned up on my elbows to watch him get undressed. "Then, neither am I." He said simply with a reassuring smile as he let his button down shirt fall to the floor and then lifted off his plain white under shirt. He was not a six pack abs sort of man, but he was fit and well proportioned. He kicked his shoes off, but left his pants before coming close beside me on the bed. He kissed my left shoulder and softly ran his right hand down the new bare skin of my side. I know I said he had rough hands, but his touch was as light as a feather when he wanted it to be. At the waist of my jeans, he spanned across the denim, stopping in the center above the button. From there, he reached up to stroke my stomach, completely driving me mad as he did so. I laid back on the soft sheets and closed my eyes once again. I was completely his.

I felt his other hand play to unlatch my bra. When he finally succeeded in such, he slipped the straps off my shoulders and down my arms as I laid still in absolute bliss. He tossed it on the floor before slowly shifting to move on top of me rather than beside me. The room was a little cold, but between us, there was nothing but heat. His body was warm and inviting. His hands came up my sides this time and each soon gently cupped a breast. I could not help but notice the difference between August and other boys I had been with. Well, actually, I suppose the difference was that August was not a boy; August was an older, experienced man. Nevertheless, everything he did was so exhilarating, even the slight bit of pain that came with his bite turned me on. He kissed me once more before trailing his kisses down my body once again. Eventually, his lips came to my nipple. With his hand still cupping the bottom of my breast, he took my nipple into his mouth. I resisted the urge to yelp out as he did so. I mean, are you kidding me? This is too good. I moaned out a little instead, and he flicked his wet tongue over my nipple with a small groan to assure me of his pleasure. His other hand massaged my breast softly. How did this even happen? I thought we would never see each other again.

After much attention to my breasts, my patience was limited. I wanted him. Slow and soft was great, but not when I had not seen him in three years and this was our first time together. "I want you." I admitted just a little shyly. It sounded so forward, which it was supposed to sound like, but still.... Luckily, he seemed to know exactly what I meant by it. He looked up at me with his piercing blue eyes and nodded before continuing down my body. He undid my pants and pulled them down, along with my underwear, stopping only for a brief second to toss off my shoes. Now completely bare with my heart beating fast and heat rising off my body, I looked to him on bended elbows once again. "You're…." He just took a deep breath. He glanced down at his pants to undo them before looking to me once again. Suddenly, I did not need to see the rest of him anymore; his eyes had captured me. I only broke eye contact with him once he was completely bare; mainly because I do not think I could ever forgive myself if I did not dare to catch a look at him completely naked in this moment. He was…everything I thought he would be and more. I came up a little more, waiting for him to take me in his arms again and make this dream complete.

He went over to the dresser first though. "Condom." I was quick to respond. "No?" I have only had sex with two other people and with those two other people always used a condom. I know I am not a risk. "We have to be safe, Grace." He said as he found one in the drawer. "I'm on birth control." I said quickly. It was more for my hormones, but it helped with this too. He paused for a moment before leaving the condom on the dresser and coming back to me. "Ok." He whispered against my lips before kissing me again.

I pulled him closer and he let a hand run down below my waist to spread my legs and tease me a bit. I moaned out a little in between kisses. Then, without warning, he slowly eased inside of me. I gasped with how…big he was. I know everyone can not have a well endowed boyfriend, not to say August is my boyfriend exactly, but he really was…big, and it was gasp worthy. Anyway, he moved at a slow pace and I could not help but enjoy every single second of it. My hands soon grasped the bed covers tightly and I worked a little to move with him as we continued. I was already half way there by the point in which he finally moved inside me. Within seconds, I could already feel myself giving in a bit. "August. I…Oh God, August." It felt so good to say his name and I could tell he enjoyed hearing it in his slight increase in pace. He groaned and I could not help but moan. I came a moment later. In that moment, my body stopped and my muscles tensed as if an electric current was running through me. My heart was practically beating out of my chest and I had to really work to catch my breath.

In my past sexual experiences, all two of them, I had come and they had come not shortly after. However, he kept on going, intent, it seemed, on making me come again. After another few minutes, I could not hold on any longer. I gave in for a second time and came again. This time, I think I almost saw stars. He came shortly after, breathing just as roughly as I was. I could not move for a few moments, and I got the impression that he could not really move either. After a few moments, he just kissed me breathlessly before carefully rolling off of me and beside me. I turned to look him in the eyes once again, putting my forehead against his. "Worth waiting for." He whispered. I smiled.


	3. The Morning After

At 7:30, the alarm clock rang loudly. August, I still can not believe I am calling him that, reached an arm over me to turn it off, but I was up before he could manage it. "I'm up." I said, half-awake, but instantly sitting up a bit. "No, you're not." He whispered as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close, refusing to let me go. I laughed a little, but gave in to his pull regardless. "I have a final in two hours." I said after closing my eyes for just another second. "And I make a mean 'first day of finals' omelet?" He offered, hoping it would get me to stay. He took my hand in his, twining our fingers together. Another moment passed before I finally came up with another excuse. "I have to shower and change..." It was not really an excuse; I did have to do it. "Shower here with me." He said simply; it almost worked. I pictured his wet body and hair and I could have very easily have taken a shower there, but…"Very tempting, but I don't think any of your clothes will fit and I really can't. Just…my last final is over at five." He loosened his grip to let me go, but not before nipping at my lips for a kiss over the shoulder, to which I happily obliged. "I'll pick you up at six? On campus?" He asked a bit groggily as I worked to pick my clothing up off the floor. "You're that anxious to see me again?" I asked as I slipped my undergarments and pants on. Not that I was not hoping for the same exact thing. In fact, it was exactly what I was hoping for in response to telling him my last final was done at five. "Unless you want to wait it out…?" He asked.

"No." I replied as I slipped on my sweater. "I'll be at the main campus gates at six." And with that, I headed for the door. I only turned back for a moment with my hand on the doorknob to see him one last time, to try and make sense of it. A grin came to my face and I knew I had to leave before I jumped back into bed with him.


	4. The Second Date?

I finished my Acting final a half an hour early and rushed to my dorm room to get ready. I had an hour and a half, but I wanted to look good for him. I had no idea what we were going to do after meeting up at the gates, but I still wanted to look good. When I came into the room, I noticed my roommate, Caroline, was in. Of course, she asked where I had been the night before. I told her I just got caught in the library all night and it was done with. Maybe I should have told her the truth. I just…I did not necessarily want to explain the whole thing. I did not know how she would react to me being with a man who was twenty-three years older and my former high school teacher. I mean, she said she liked older men and did not believe age was anything but a number, but this was different; this had a messy history. So, I just asked her for her opinion on my new short red dress, had her help me straighten my hair, finished getting ready, and that was it.

I stood at the gates at six. It was already dark out, but the light posts by the gates were bright enough to be seen miles away I thought. I was not sure if this was our first date or our second date. I mean, I guess the trip to see Rashomon could have been considered a date. It was just us, and he bought me popcorn and put his arm around me half way through the movie, but we did not really do anything. Anyway, he picked me up five minutes later in the same silver, hybrid car that had previously held some tense moments between us. "You're late." I teased as I opened the door and slid into the passenger seat. "I wanted to get you something I saw in the bookstore the other day." He said as he put the car in park for a moment and reached behind his seat to pull out a book of poems by Shelley. "If you don't already have a copy of those…I know it's not flowers or anything, but I figured…Well, I thought you might like it." I smiled at how he did not know what to say exactly. I mean, he was always so good at being direct and knowing exactly what to say and exactly when to say it. I knew it was just a momentary lapse of his though; perhaps it was brought on by my dress. I hoped it was brought on by my dress. Regardless, I took it, fingers brushing over the hard cover, and I could not help but wonder if there was another inscription from him for me. "No. Thank you." I said with a grin before realizing a kiss may be in order as well. You know, now that I can kiss him. I gave him just a peck on the lips, but he pulled me in for more. We shared a few kisses before finally pulling away from each other. "I'm sorry if I can't help but want to kiss you. I just feel like I've been waiting so long for it; I just feel like I thought this would never happen so I have to take advantage…" I said nervously with a silly grin and a shake of my head. "Grace, you have no objections from me. Not anymore." He said calmly with a small smile of his own. "Now how about we get out of here?" He asked as he shifted to drive. I nodded and we took off.

The night was perfect. We talked nonstop in the car, just catching up on things; even though, by the end, we realized that things had not really changed too much, especially between us. He told me all about his new book of short stories, and I told him all about my freshman year at Northwestern and how this past fall semester had gone. At dinner, the conversation was lighter as we just discussed books and movies as usual, and the pasta I ordered was the best pasta I think I have ever tasted. August even ordered wine for us and I got away with downing a three full glasses without being carded or anything. It a much is one more advantage to having older boyfriend, I suppose. He asked if I wanted to get back to campus or if we should go back to his place. A little part of me told me to get back to campus, but I couldn't bring myself to say it. So, I told him I wanted to go back to his place and I called my roommate to let her know that I was not coming back tonight. She's did not pick up, so I just left a message. "Hi Caroline, it's Grace. Uh…I'm staying at a friend's place tonight since we are going to be up pretty late studying. Don't wait up for me, ok?" As soon as I hung up, it was hard not to notice the very wide smile that suddenly came to his face. "What?" I asked with a bit of a laugh. "Studying at a friend's place?" He teased. "Oh, please. I just don't want her worry or anything." I replied. "Once again, I'm not complaining; I just find it a little funny." He said as we pulled up to his apartment building.

He parked the car and took my hand as we headed up. "Sure you won't miss your twin size mattress tonight?" He asked, continuing to tease me. He was very good at it. "Well, I get the same amount of room in your bed when you're stretched out all over it." I replied. "Oh, I wasn't aware that I was such an inconvenience in bed." He said with another grin and a squeeze of my hand. "It's ok, August. We all have our flaws." I said, unable to help myself from laughing a little as I stepped into the elevator and leaned against the left side. He stepped in as well, coming close again as he wrapped his other arm around me and kept my hand in his. "Do we?" He whispered before smiling. I leaned forward just a little to kiss him once more. From the way he kissed back, I figured it was going to be another long night; a very good night, but a long night regardless.


	5. The Half your age plus seven Rule

Waking up and stepping out of August's apartment on Wednesday morning was just as difficult as it had been on Tuesday, especially knowing that Wednesday night would be our last night together before I had to head home for Christmas break. I was not going to be hundreds of miles away, but I still would not be able to see him so easily, and I just wanted to spend a few more days in bed with him. I wish I could have changed something, but everything was already arranged. My mom was expecting me to be back home by Thursday afternoon, and I knew I could not tell her that I wanted a few more days just to be with August, especially considering everything that had happened in the past. Back then, she had been obviously much more accepting about it than my dad had been, but she still did not approve; she still saw a problem with our relationship. Surprisingly, I guess I sort of understand looking back. My mom just did not know what August and I had together. She just kept on focusing on how he was my teacher, and not how it could not be more than just some…fantasy. Maybe she will be open to it now that he is not my teacher anymore, now that I am older; I can not help but think that it might be even worse though.

Either way, I have two more finals, packing, and the Semester's End/Christmas party to get to with August before seeing her. To be honest, more than my finals, packing and my mom, I am nervous about the party right now. I know there are going to be a few professors and older people there, but most of the party will be made up of my peers; all of whom are fairly judgmental. I know it is not like anyone is going to set out to ask about us. Relationships with varied age differences in them can be somewhat common in college and most people there are going to be completely smashed by the end of the first hour anyway. I do not know what I should say if they do ask though. Are we just having fun together, or it is serious? Is he my boyfriend, just my friend, or, god help me for saying this, my _lover_? I want to say it is serious and that he is my boyfriend, but I feel like those words can be so touchy. I mean, I read in a magazine once that a woman introduced the man she was with as her boyfriend and he almost ran away right then and there. Not that I really take stuff in magazines seriously, but I do not want to take any risk of sending August running. I do not want to guess either though. I think I am just going to ask him tonight. He invited me over to his place to get ready, so we can take his car and I will not have to walk all the way to the train station and everything. So, I think I will ask him once I am all dressed up. It's harder to leave a girl when she all dressed up, right?

My English final went well. I have a lot on my mind, but it is English. I mean, I have written so many papers over the years, mandatory and not, that I am used to putting aside my personal stuff to get my work done. Or, in the case of August's class, I was used to bringing my personal stuff out and into my papers. It is like a light switch, I guess. I put it in when I can, and leave it out when I can not. The point is, that the final went well, and I am finally ready to head over to August's place now. I brought a new dress for this party. It is plum colored and off the shoulder. Caroline said it was classic and yet still sexy. She said it would definitely get me some attention from the boys. Of course, now I do not really want any attention from the boys. Anyway, we matched it with a pair of her heels since we are the same size and she has tons of heels, and I tracked down some really nice eye shadow and lipstick to match. So, I should be all set.

I got to his apartment a few minutes after seven and he answered the door in little more than a pair of boxers and a robe with shaving cream all over his face. I had seen this look on him before, but this time it was much more gratifying in that he was not so covered up this time. "I thought we said seven-thirty." He said. "I can leave and come back in a fifteen minutes if you really want me to." I offered, knowing he was not serious but just playing along. He smiled and moved from the doorway then, letting me in and moving back into the bathroom. "Didn't think so." I said under my breath as I laid my bag down on the bed, taking out my dress and laying it out on the bed and putting my shoes on the floor. "What was that?" He asked. "Nothing. I didn't say anything." I doubt my little bit of laughing helped in convincing him of that though. He did not say anything though. He just stuck his head out of the bathroom doorway to give me a funny look. I managed to give him a completely innocent look and then he went back to his business.

A few minutes passed as I got on my dress and he finished shaving. He came in and out of the room while I was changing but it did not bother me. I mean, he had seen me naked and I just felt so comfortable around him for some reason. I do not let my mom see me naked, but with him, I just do not feel like I have anything to be ashamed of, or anything to be afraid of. Once my dress and shoes were on, I put a little mousse in my hair and decided it was time to ask the question that had been on my mind all day. "August, you know I invited you to this party because I want to be with you, right?" God, I hope that was the right way to start. "Yeah, I want to be with you too; that's why I'm coming. I mean, I can get finger food and cheap wine anywhere." He replied with a smile as he focused on putting on his pants. "Yeah." I replied with a sheepish smile. A minute or two passed. "Well, I just….you and me…we're together, right?" He looked to me, and I looked him right in the eye. I hoped it was not too apparent how scary this was for me. He buttoned his pants and then came over to me. I was sitting on the bed. "You want to be together?" I brushed back a piece of hair nervously. "Yes." I said softly. He sat beside me and put a hand on my cheek. "Then we are together, together and late if we're not out of here in a few minutes." He said with another smile. I looked to him with a bright smile of my own. That was…easy. I knew he would not disappoint me though. "I better start getting my makeup on then."

He got up then to let me get my makeup on and went back to his closet to get a shirt on. "It's not like you need makeup, Grace." He claimed. I just looked to him, blushing a bit before continuing to put on my makeup. A few more minutes passed, and surprisingly, I did not even care that we were late. Instead, I just rose to my feet when he was finished, took his hand, and smiled. I could not stop smiling. Luckily, traffic was minimal and we got to the party only a few minutes after it had started. We decided to mingle on our own for a little bit before coming together to mingle and relax. Most of my girl friends had taken notice as to whom I came with, but they were all more jealous about him than concerned about him and his intentions. So, I did not even really need the label that he had allowed me to use. I went by the food table, but nothing was too appetizing. I did indulge a little with the eggnog though. Unfortunately, I was only told that it was alcoholic by like my sixth punch glass of it. Not that I can not hold my liquor, because I am in college, but I usually do not drink so much. I did not throw up; my stomach was fine. My balance was off though. I almost tripped over a tiny patch of stairs when August luckily came out of the blue and found me. "Might want to watch where you're going, Grace. You look a little…" He looked into my eyes. "Have you been drinking?" I swallowed. "Uh…apparently, the uh…eggnog was spiked." He laughed a little which made me frown. "Oh, well, do you want to go?" He asked. "Not if you're just going to make fun of me." I replied. He immediately stopped smiling. "I'm sorry. I'm not…I don't mean to laugh." He said, straightening up in posture a bit as well and putting his hands on my arms. "You better not. I don't like it when people laugh at me." I said with an itch to my cheek. "I don't think you're the only one there, Grace." A beat. "Do you want to go, Grace?" He asked once again. "To your place?" I asked. "Yeah, do you want to go to my place? I think this party is going to die down soon enough anyway. We won't miss anything." I thought about it for a moment. "Ok." I replied. He brought his hands down my arms. One just went back to his side while the other stopped at my hand and he took my hand. We walked out slowly, dodging drunken people left and right. I couldn't possibly be as drunk as them, could I? I laughed at that thought and he looked back to me with an inquisitive smile, or at least what I took to be an inquisitive smile. "I was just thinking that I couldn't be as drunk as all those over people." I said with another little laugh. "Over people?" He asked, laughing a little as well. "Yeah, those other people." I said again. "Right, the _other_ people." He repeated as he opened the passenger side door for me and helped me into the car. "My mom's car never had that clicky lock thing." I said, closing my eyes for a minute. "Yeah? I guess I got lucky in getting the clicky lock thing then." He said with another little laugh before getting into the driver's seat and starting the car. "You definitely did." I replied before sort of falling asleep as he started the car and we drove back to his apartment. Joni Mitchell was playing over the stereo. She had the most soothing voice. I heard him mumble something along the ride, but…

I eventually felt the car come to a halt longer than it would at just a red light, and I felt a light touch on my shoulder. I woke up a little and he was standing at my doorway of the car. He smiled at me and I smiled back. He managed to get his arms under me and carefully lifted me out of the car, closing the door with a nudge of his hip. "We're here already?" He nodded a little. "You want to have sex?" I asked outright with a bit of a smirk. I could tell he was really trying not to laugh. "Tempting, but I am kind of tired." I knew he wasn't really, but I wasn't going to complain. I mean, we had already had sex the other two times. Not to suggest I could ever get tired of having sex with him because I definitely would not. "Ok." I said as we headed into the elevator and he continued to hold me. "I'm not heavy?" I asked. "Not at all." He quickly replied. "Good. I don't want to strain you, especially when you're so tired." I teased. He just leaned his head down to kiss my cheek. "Something wrong with my lips now?" I asked. "Nothing. I'm just saving all my real, lip kisses for bed. We're almost there." He replied once more before the elevator doors opened and he struggled to keep holding me while getting his keys in the door. He did manage it though. Once we were inside, he gently put me down on the bed before closing and locking the apartment door.

When he came back into the room, he kicked off his shoes before coming over to me. I laid still on the bed as he stripped me down, carefully taking off my shoes and jacket first, folding them, and leaving them on a nearby chair for me. He grabbed a t-shirt from his closet to put me in once he took off my dress. In the midst of it all, I just kept on looking at the expression on his face. Everything he did, every piece of clothing he took off…he just looked so mesmerized; I felt admired like a famous piece of art in a museum of something; it was something I had never felt before. Once I was in nothing more than his t-shirt and my panties, he undressed. I watched from afar. "I love you." I admitted, unsure what he would say, but unafraid. He looked back to me, surprised and just taking it all in for a moment. "I love you too, Grace." I meant it. Even though my thoughts were a little crazy and everything in general was a bit fuzzy, I meant it, and I knew he meant it too. I closed my eyes comfortably when he climbed into bed next to me a moment later. I leaned back to kiss him once more as I felt myself drifting off once again. He took me in his arms and I passed out comfortably. It was not the night I had planned on, but it was still exciting and I knew, something to hold on while I was stuck at home.


	6. Miss You Much

With my sociology final over, I had two hours before I told my mother I would be on my way home. She had already called my two times to tell me how excited she was and to ask me if I was already packed to go. I wish I could have been as excited as she was about coming home. I mean, I missed her and the whole family, but going home meant I could not sleep at August's apartment every night as I had done for the past three nights. I know three nights seems like nothing, but three nights seems like forever when you are used to tossing and turning as you sleep alone every night before that. I have yet to toss or turn with his arms around me, and I only woke up when the alarm went off in the morning. This morning, I did not even know how it went off perfectly two hours before I was due for my last final; I did not set it the night before, and the other mornings had been set for much earlier in the morning so there was no pattern to go off of. I could only assume that August had remembered the time of my last final when I mentioned it sometime in passing and he had set it for me. That alone, setting the alarm for me, made me realize I was going to miss him. I know that it makes no sense to be this close to him after such a short period of time, but I cannot help it. My heart has just falling back into love with him as if it was waiting for him to come back into my life somehow the entire time.

Anyway, after waking with a minor headache this morning, he gave me aspirin,wheat thins, and water in bed. It was not a traditional breakfast in bed, but it was a hangover breakfast in bed. Considering how much I had discovered he liked to sleep late, it was even more special to me. I left his apartment slowly, telling him I could not say goodbye yet. I told him to meet me at the bus station instead. I realize now that it was probably worst to do that, to not just say goodbye and leave. At the bus station now, knowing he's going to be here any minute to say goodbye is making me crazy, making me want to stay even more.

He showed up only five minutes before my bus was due to pull away, not that I could not have easily caught the next one, but I knew he did it for a reason. I knew some of it was just his perpetual state of lateness, but I also knew that he only wanted five minutes; that any more time would just be too much. "You have my number if you need me for anything. And I'll see if I can make it there on a weekend or something. You know, nothing too obvious, but something. I'll miss you, Grace." He said simply, looking at me with a look that said everything he couldn't get out in words. "It's just a month." I replied. I was telling him that, but I was also sort of saying it to myself. I gave into my real feelings a moment later though. "I'll miss you too. I'll call you." Even though, I am not much of a phone person, I will call him. The bus driver honked the horn to round everyone up and I was trying so hard not to cry. For some reason, I was afraid I would never see him again, just like I was when he had to leave last time. Holding back my tears, I leaned in for one last kiss before going on the bus. Then, once seated and out of his sight completely, I cried.

I arrived in town only an hour or two later with some traffic slowing the bus. With August still in the back of my head, I wondered why my mom never really visited me at school. I was only a little bit away. It was a repeated wonder of mine. The only reason I could ever come up with though was that she just wanted me to have my time away from home; I guess she was giving me the space that I never really completely had with a sister, two step siblings, and everyone else around. Either way, I was sort of happy to be home. My mom was waiting at the bus stop in the car. I recognized her immediately, put my bag into the back, and hopped in the front. "Gracie." She said with a bright smile, just looking me over for a second. She made it seem like we had not seen each other in years when it had only been a couple weeks since Thanksgiving. "God, I missed you." She pulled me into a hug then. "I missed you too, Mom." I hugged her back, wondering how long she was going to hold onto me before letting me go again. She finally let go a minute later. "It's only been three or four weeks though, you know." I said. "I know, but it always seems much longer." She replied before putting the car into drive and starting towards the house. "Your sister wanted to come with me to pick you up, but she had dance class." She said. "Is she home?" I asked, looking out the window at how there were little patches of snow everywhere. "Yeah, Rick picked her up." I nodded before reaching to change the radio station. Mom had it on Christmas carols, but I could not stand the Mariah Carey Christmas song that had come on. I stopped on a random station when I heard Joni Mitchell. It instantly reminded me of him, and more specifically, last night. "The radio show still going well?" I asked, trying not to show how pleased just hearing his favorite music made me. "Yeah, it's going really well actually. I got a few extra minutes added on to my show." She replied with some enthusiasm. "That's good, Mom. I'm happy for you." I replied as she pulled into the driveway. The house was really much closer to the bus station than I had remembered.


	7. Homecoming

We pulled into the driveway and my mom almost reached for my bag from the back for me, but I got it. When we got inside, Rick, Zoe, and Eli were setting the table; they had brought home some food from Mexican take out restaurant nearby. "Grace!" Zoe exclaimed before immediately running over to me, hugging me tightly. Eli and Rick were quick to follow as well. "How're you doing, Grace?" Rick asked as he pulled back to continue setting the table. "I'm good. Finals are over, so it's a huge weight off my back." I replied as I moved into the living room to drop my bag by the couch. "Do you think you did well, Honey?" Mom asked a moment later. "Yeah, I mean, I spent my whole last weekend just going over everything. I think I did really well." I assured her. She nodded back.

"Jessie should be home in a little bit. She's just putting a few finishing touches on the winter dance decorations for tomorrow. She said we could start without her though. They already had pizza." Rick said as we all sat down at the table. "Anna's going to give her a ride home?" My mom asked before we all started to dig in. Rick nodded and that was our cue to start eating. I was actually really hungry. I had not had anything but the wheat thins in the morning and half of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich around lunch. As usual, Eli grabbed the plate with everything on it first, grabbing a chicken quesadilla first before passing it around. I took a steak fajita wrap and a chicken quesadilla when it came to me. "The cafeteria food as disappointing as it used to be when I was there?" My mom teased as to my larger than usual portion. I looked up, unsure how to respond for a second. Eli jumped right in instead. "She was probably just hung-over for most of the day from all of those end semester parties, right Grace?" I'm guessing I looked at him with some crazed look there for a moment before controlling myself. How could he know? Luckily, Zoe jumped in next. "Please, like Grace would ever do that. That's just something you would do, Eli." Eli shook his head and Mom and Rick both just laughed. For a brief time, I thought about proving them all wrong and telling them the truth, that I was indeed hung over for most of the day and that I spent the last three days with a man they drove away from me before. Instead, I just stayed silent though and enjoyed my first real meal of the day.

After dinner, I put off helping mom clean up because I wanted to call August and let him know I got home alright. I remembered he had mentioned it to me to earlier that morning. Eli stepped in for me as I told mom I wanted to get settled and I headed upstairs. As I stepped into my room, I instantly closed the door and locked it before dropping my bag on the bed. I sat on the bed and pulled out my cell phone, afraid to call on the main line for obvious reasons. "August?" I asked as I heard someone pick up. "Grace. You made it there ok?" He asked. "Well, I don't know if I'm necessarily ok. I mean, you're not here." I admitted. "We'll see each other soon enough, Grace." A beat. "And in the meantime, you can call me whenever." He repeated. "I know." I said, not wanting to say anything else that would make it harder. "Anyway, I have to go. I know my mom is going to call me any minute to catch up and I really need to get into some pajamas so I can at least be physically comfortable." He laughed a little and then responded. "Ok. I love you, Grace. I'll talk to you later." He hung up and I was sort of amazed that he said 'I love you'. I mean, we had said it to each other last night, but I was drunk and I did not know if he took me seriously. Apparently, he did though. I cannot complain about that; I love him too.

After the call, I unpacked a bit. I still had some clothes at home, so I had not packed too much but I did pack some and I had a bit of laundry packed in as well. I figured I could bring it home instead of using all my quarters up to do it at school a day earlier. One thing I did not just put away was a t-shirt I had managed to grab off the chair earlier this morning. It was not the t-shirt of his that he had put me in, although I still had that one too. No, this was the green button-up shirt he had worn the night before. It smelled a bit like 'crazy party', but it mostly just like his soap, like him. He knew I took it along with the one I was still wearing, but he did not seem to care. Instead he just said he did not know why I needed just his shirt when I could have him back soon enough. I smiled, but kept the shirt regardless. I had planned on putting it somewhere secret, but in seeing it and smelling his soap on it, I could not help but put it on. I matched it with a pair of plaid green pants I had in hopes of not looking too odd with it on in front of the family. God, it felt too good.

As I predicted, my mother knocked on my door a minute later. I unlocked the door before getting in to bed quickly to keep my distance. I was not sure if she would be able to smell August's manly soap smell on me, but I did not care to risk it. "It's open." I shouted as I was under the covers. She came in, somehow already in her pajamas as well. My mom was always quick. Dishes were done in a minute and she could change in half a minute it seemed. "All settled in?" She asked as she settled on a corner at the end of my bed. "Yeah, I'm all set; I'm just really tired." She smiled a little and moved up further to be able to brush a hand over my head. She hugged me a moment later. "Oh, I can imagine." I knew she could smell it now; I just knew.

"Gracie, are you wearing cologne or something?" I blanked for a second. "Uh, no…This shirt is just…one of my friends lent it to me." Not a lie. He is my friend; he's my boyfriend. Boyfriend can be considered a subcategory of friend, can it not? "A boy friend?" She asked boldly. "Yeah." I said simply, knowing she was going to want me to explain, and she did. "Why did he lend you his shirt?" She asked with an odd look. "Oh, we were going to the library to study together and I mentioned I was cold; he did not have an extra jacket, so he gave me one of his thick shirts to warm me up a bit instead. I only put it on now because it is so warm and I know the heat in this room just got turned on again." I replied, trying my best not to sound or seem nervous, because I was; I was very nervous. At least until she finally responded. "Oh, ok. Just not used to you smelling like that." She said with a smile. "I was not aware the shirt smelled so much." I said with a little shrug. "I have a really sensitive nose, I guess. Anyway, you get to bed; I'll see you in the morning. Ok, sweetie?" She asked before giving me a kiss on my cheek. "Mmhmm. Night, Mom; I love you." I said. "I love you too. Night." She rose to her feet and left then, closing the door as she did. Once she was gone, I took a deep breath unsure of how I had come up with such a lie, but relived I was able to regardless.


	8. Time Flies When Your Day Is Your Night

I woke up the next day at noon. The house was unusually quiet, and it took me a second to remember that Jessie and Zoe were at school and Eli, Mom, and Rick were all at work. I had the house all to myself. I grabbed my cell phone from the floor where it had been charging and called August. We talked for a few minutes. He told me a little bit about the new short story he was writing; he told me I had inspired a love story for him, which was not necessarily his usual genre. It made me smile. Then we discussed what I should do with all my free time. His first suggestion was for me to write and reading was his second as always. I realized I had not actually opened the Shelley book he gave me then. With a few more brief words, we exchanged 'I love yous' and said goodbye.

Afterwards, I grabbed a bowl of oatmeal and curled back into my bed. I ate a scoop of it before reaching down to my bag again to find the book he gave me. I opened it, expecting an inscription and happily finding one. _Not a moment has seemed to pass, to my great pleasure. Your hands fit too perfectly in mine. Always yours, August._ It was just like the first inscription, direct and yet deep and almost a bit tear jerking at the same time. I wanted to call him back then and tell him thank you once more. I resisted though, knowing he was working and I did not have to call him every single moment of the day; even though, I was constantly tempted to. Instead, I now made it my mission to get him a really nice Christmas present. I did not know what I would get or how I would get it to him, but I would figure it out. For him, I would figure it out.

I continued reading in bed for hours, memorized by Shelley's writing. I read everything more than once, wanting to absorb every single word. When my mom came home, she had Jessie and Zoe with her. They had gone grocery shopping. I got out of bed, still in the same green shirt of August's and my pajama pants, and headed down to help mom put away everything. "Hi, mom." I said as I came down the stairs and stood by the fridge. Jessie and Zoe were getting groceries from the car. "Hey Gracie. You look comfortable." She replied with a smile. "Yeah, I had a day in bed. Didn't really see the need to change, you know?" She nodded. "Completely rested now?" She asked as I moved closer to grab a bag and start putting things away. "Yeah. I slept till about noon. Then, I was just reading for a bit." Jessie and Zoe came in then, bringing three more bags of groceries between the two of them. Zoe gave me a big smile once again, but Jessie just hinted a smile. "Hey Jessie. I didn't see you last night." I said. "Oh, I was stuck at school pretty late." She replied simply. I nodded, not exactly sure what to say next, but my mom spoke up for me. "So, everything is set for the dance tonight?" She asked Jessie. "Yeah, I just have to get ready." Jessie replied. "Well, maybe Grace can help you, and you two can catch up?" I looked to Jessie with a smile. In the past, I would have minded my mom just volunteering me to help her like that, but now, I really didn't mind for some reason. Jessie and I were always a little awkward around each other, but we could get along. "Uh…sure. You know if you wouldn't mind." Jessie said with a small smile of her own finally. "Not at all." I replied. We finished putting the groceries away together before Jessie and I headed up to her room in the attic

"So, do you have a date for tonight?" I asked as I continued up the stairs after her. "Jim Parcel is taking me?" Jessie replied. I wish I only knew who Jim Parcel was. "He's a senior as well?" I asked. "Yeah, a transfer. He just came in this year. We always sort of talked and flirted, but I never expected him to ask me to the dance. He's nice though, so I didn't mind it or anything, you know?" Jessie replied once more. I nodded as she went into her closet to get her dress and shoes. "Have you met anyone new back at college yet?" She shouted from inside the closet. "Yeah, I've made a lot of new friends this year. I think I mentioned the theatre group at Thanksgiving? They're all really great." She came out and started stripping out of her normal clothing and changing into the dress. I turned the other way to give her some privacy. "You did, but that's not what I meant Grace." She replied. "I mean, have you met any new guys?" I paused, unsure what to say. Jessie had been there for me the last time with August, but I could not help but wonder if she might react differently this time. "Not exactly." I replied. "Not exactly?" She asked. I decided if there was anyone I could tell it was probably Jessie. She would not have any reason to tell mom, and I wanted to tell everyone so badly; maybe telling someone who make it easier without him. "I ran into August. I mean, Mr. Dimitri. He was at a coffee shop, and…" I waited for her reaction. "Mr. Dimitri? Oh my God! Mr. Dimitri! What?!" Jessie replied, absolutely surprised. "What happened?" She asked quickly a moment later. "Uh, well…we…we're together?" I said shyly and unsure. She came over then all dressed up and wearing an utterly surprised expression. "You're together?" She asked a bit louder. "Yeah." I said quietly, giving her a look to tell her she should quiet down as well. "Oh my God, Grace." She said simply before putting her arms around me to hug me. "I know."

Jessie assured me that she would not tell anyone about it, especially my mom, and then she asked for all the details as I did her makeup. It was so nice to be able to talk to someone about it. I did not expect to be able to talk to Jessie about it, but I was grateful for her and her understanding. She asked me if I was going to tell my mom and I told her no, but the truth was that I knew I would have to tell her sometime. I still had no idea how to though. That night, I could not sleep as I thought about it. My sleeping pattern grew increasing erratic over the next few days as at night I kept staying up thinking about August and my mom and everything and I found no real reason to be up during the day as I was all alone anyway. My mom left me the car on a few days, but I did not really have anywhere to go besides the bookstore, where I stocked up. I could not stop reading; at least, until I actually starting writing at some point. My phone conversations with August, which in the beginning dimmed the surprising pain of missing him, grew longer and more frequent as I really just longed to see him again. August assured me he was working on it.

Before I knew it, two weeks had flown by and it was Christmas Eve. As a family, we all sat in the living room, talking and drinking hot chocolate in front of the fire. Eli talked about his new girlfriend, Mom talked about her Christmas edition of the show, and Rick assured us that even though none of us had turned in Christmas lists aside from Zoe, 'Santa' had a pretty good idea of we wanted. Zoe, then, discussed what she planned to do with the guitar on her Christmas list. "I'm going to take lessons from this boy in my math class. His name is Ryan and he's really good, you know? Plus, I think he likes me, so he's not going to charge me anything to help me. It's good too because I heard guitar lessons can be expensive."

My mom looked over to me then. I was curled up on one corner of the couch next to Jessie. "What about you Grace? Looking forward to anything special underneath the tree?" She asked, knocking me out of my daze into the fire. "Oh…um….I guess some new clothes would be nice." Really, I just wanted to see him. I had no idea how I had grown so attached to him so quickly, but I had and I could not get over it; even with Christmas decorations and family all around me, I could not get over how bad I wanted to see him. "You ok, Grace?" Rick asked. I suddenly had everyone's eyes on me now. "Of course. I'm fine; I'm just a little tired. You know, the heat from the fire and the comfy couch is knocking me out." I replied with a bit of a nervous laugh. "Well, maybe we should all get to bed then. It _is_ almost midnight." Rick said. "Yeah, we've got to leave some time for the presents to get here." My mom reasoned with a nod as well. "Ok." I said simply, rising to my feet as everyone else did. All of us exchanged hugs and kisses before saying good night and heading to our respective rooms.

When I got back to my room, I realized that my cell phone was beeping. I closed the door before opening it to see why. Three missed calls from August. "Damn." I said to myself before closing the missed call message and calling him. I was not necessarily expecting him to pick up since it was ten minutes to midnight, but, luckily, he did. "August?" I said quietly, knowing everyone was still moving around the house and someone could easily hear through the door or walk in. "Grace. I was trying to call you before." He replied. "I know; I was downstairs with my family for a couple hours. You know, we were talking and there was a fire and hot chocolate. Anyway, I'm here now." I said happily. "But you probably won't be able to get out now, will you?" He asked. "Get out?" I asked curiously. "I'm in town; at the inn, three blocks away to be more specific. I was thinking it could be sort of a crazy Christmas present among other things, of course." I was so happy and so surprised that I almost dropped the phone. "Really?" I asked, hoping it wasn't just a joke. I really didn't want it to just be a joke. "Really, Grace." He replied. "I'm coming." I said quickly. I had no idea how I was going to grab the keys and sneak out, but I was. I had to see him. "Grace, how are you going to…" He asked. "I'm coming." I said once again, interrupting him. "Grace, maybe you should just wait till tomorrow." He said. "It is tomorrow, August. I'm coming now." I repeated. "And you can't change my mind about it now." I said, putting my foot down. "Ok then. I'm in room 107." He said with a little laugh, a bit surprised but no longer protesting. "I'll be there in ten minutes. Maybe fifteen." I said before just hanging up. I would have said I love you and all that, but I was too excited and I knew I was going to say it to him face to face in about ten minutes anyway.

I rushed up to the attic, trying not making too much noise as I did so. Jessie was already in her bed, but she was not asleep yet. "Jessie, you have to cover me in the morning, ok?" I said quickly. "What?" She asked, sitting up in her bed. "August is at the inn and I have to see him. I'll be back in the morning around eight, but if everyone is up before then just tell them I went out for milk ok?" I reasoned. "Grace, you're crazy. We have milk in the fridge, and even then, what would be the big need for it?" She asked. "Jessie, just tell them I was going to make Christmas breakfast or something, ok? I'll take care of the milk already in the fridge. I'll throw it out outside. Just…please." I pleaded. "Grace, I don't know about this." She said. "Please, Jessie. I **need** to see him. He's here just for me and I…I need to see him." I said, almost tearing up a little. After a long moment's pause, she finally spoke up. "Ok, I guess…ok." With her help guaranteed, I crept back downstairs to head out. I was still in my pajamas, but I had the keys, my cell phone, and, most importantly, my Christmas gift for him.

I tip toed out the door and carefully shut and locked it, figuring there was no going back now. I got into the car and eyed Rick and mom's bedroom window to see if their lights were off. I waited for a few minutes just to be sure before starting the car and taking off towards the inn. The inn was mostly dark, but the door was still open and I could see somewhat through the frosted window that there was someone behind the desk. I ran up the stairs, in the door, and went straight to the front desk. I probably looked a little crazy, but I did not care. I went up to the desk and asked where room 107 was. "It's right down this right hall, Miss." The man replied. "Thank you." I said before quickly walking down the hall and stopping as I came to his door. I knocked three times.

He answered the door a robe, a t-shirt, and pajama pants; without another moment's hesitation, I moved into the room, wrapped my arms around him, and kissed him. I could tell he was a bit surprised by it at first, but he kissed back after a second, his hands coming to my cheeks. After a minute or two, I pulled back, if only to catch my breath and wipe the tears that had suddenly come to my eyes. I could not help it; I just missed him so much. "Miss me?" He asked teasingly as he wiped away my tears instead. "You have no idea." I replied, looking up into his eyes. "Well, I may not be crying, but I think I have a pretty good idea." He replied, turning me around before wrapping his arms around me and just holding me for a moment. "I love you, Grace." I embraced his arms around me easily and brought my hand to his to twine our fingers together. "I love you too." I said softly, still tearing up uncontrollably. I turned a little in his arms and rested my head against his chest. "Don't cry." He said softly, kissing the top of my head. "I'm trying not to, but they just keep coming." I admitted. "Well, maybe if you close them…" He suggested. "Maybe." I replied. I did not really want to move though. Even though we were standing, I still felt perfectly comfortable in his arms. "Don't want to move, do you?" He asked with a soft smile. "Not at all." I said with a little sniffle.

We stood there for a few more minutes before he gently moved down a little, brought one arm under my legs, and lifted me. He's very good at that, it seems. The bed was only a few steps away. It was a full size bed, which made it seem like just one half of August's bed in his apartment. I did not mind though. A smaller bed meant less space between us. He set me down on the right side before letting his robe fall to the floor. I was already in my pajamas, so I just slipped off my shoes and I was set. He crawled into bed beside me, wrapping his arms around me and getting comfortable before leaning over my one shoulder for another kiss. I happily complied, my tears dying down a little more as I did so. I thought I would have jumped him in seeing him and we would have had sex, but instead, this was what came naturally. Just feeling his arms around me and kissing him was what I needed and wanted more than anything else though. I mean, sex was amazing with him and we were definitely going to get to that before he left I was sure, but right now was not the time for it. Right now, we just wanted to be with each other in a physical way that did not involve getting naked or anything, but just involved us holding each other and falling asleep. And that's just what we did.


	9. A Bitter Twist

The wakeup call came at exactly seven thirty and I picked it up before quickly hanging it up in the same instant. I could tell the room was a bit cold outside of the warm blankets and August's arms, but I knew I had to get up. "Leaving already?" He asked quietly. I hesitated for a moment before responding. "I have to." He loosened his arms around me to let me out. "Promise you'll be back later." He said. "I'll be back later." I replied as I sat up and turned to get out of bed. The cold air immediately hit me and gave me goose bumps as I pushed back the covers. "I have more planned, Grace." He said. "I'll be back later, I promise." I assured him with a little laugh. "Ok." He said, quickly leaning up over my shoulder to pull me back into a kiss. I fell back easily, enjoying the oddity of the upside down kiss, and once again tempted to just stay. "I have to go." I whispered against his lips with another little chuckle. "Ok." He said, kissing me quickly once more with a smile before lying back in bed. I stood up then, sliding on my shoes before rushing out.

In the car, I felt like I should be worried, but for some reason, I was not. I was at the house five minutes later. As I pulled up, I saw my mom at the front door, but I still did not jump to any conclusions. I thought she was probably just waiting for me to come back with the milk, which I forgot, but I had an excuse for. Simply put, the market was closed. I thought it would be open, but it was closed. As I came in the back door, she came right towards me. "Where were you, Grace?" She said angrily. "I went out to get milk, but the market was closed." I said nervously. "Grace, there's a half a gallon of milk in the fridge." God, how could I forget to throw that out last night? "Well, I…I was going to make a lot of pancakes and I wasn't sure there would be enough." I replied. "Grace, don't lie to me!" She sighed. "I saw you last night. I know you thought we were asleep, but we heard the car. Now where were you?" She said a bit louder. "I was out." I replied, starting to tear up. "All night!?" She asked. "Yes, mom. I was out all night." I could not help it; I started to cry. "Doing what, Grace? What could you be doing all night?"

Suddenly, it was hard to breathe and I did not know whether to just tell her the truth or try and come up with some lie. I thought about it for a moment. "Grace!" She shouted. "I was with my boyfriend, Mom. I was with August at the inn." I said quickly, hoping she would not remember his name or something. "August?" She asked. I could not think of anything else to say. "Oh my god. August." She said to herself, suddenly remembering him. Surprised, she covered her mouth and just walked into the other room for a moment. I stood still, unable to move. At this point, everyone else, except for Eli, had managed to make it downstairs and they were just staring. "Grace, did he seek you out?" She quickly said after a few moments, shouting once again. "No, Mom. No, we just ran into each other." I replied through my tears, still not believing what had just happened in the past five minutes. It was so surreal. She went back into the other room, coming back a moment later. "Grace, how …?" She could not finish. "What, Mom? We ran into each other. It was not on purpose. He was just…there." I replied. "Why are you…why are you doing this, Grace?" She asked with her hands now on top of her head. "Doing what, Mom? Loving him?" I replied. "You don't know what that is. You can't love him." She argued. "Yes, I can, Mom. He's not my teacher anymore, and I am not seventeen anymore." I replied. "Grace…" She said as she shook her head, tears now in her eyes as well. She did not say anything else; she just pushed aside everyone to go up to her room. Rick followed her up the stairs and I continued to stand still. Jessie and Zoe rushed over a moment later, careful about touching me or saying the wrong thing.

"I'm ok." I said simply. I really was not though, and both of them knew it. Jessie finally just hugged me and Zoe joined in a moment later. Even under their hugs, I just felt…I do not know what I felt exactly, but it was not happy or Christmas appropriate. I wanted to run back to the inn; I wanted to run back to him. I knew that running would not solve anything though, so I continued to stay still. God, I really messed up Christmas, didn't I? I sat on the couch with Jessie and Zoe for what seemed like forever. Eli woke up in middle and joined us on the couch, completely obvious to everything that had happened. "Where are Dad and Lily?" Before any of us could respond, he shouted up to them. "Dad! Lily! We going to do this present thing anytime soon!?" A moment later, they finally came back down. I did not know what to do or say. I was not sorry for loving August, but I was sorry for the way she had found out and everything. She did not look at me as she passed to the tree though. "We'll talk afterwards, Grace." She said simply. Rick handed out the presents. I got a lot of really nice clothing and a laptop. Even though, I liked my desktop and typewriter, I was really happy to get the laptop. It was just a shame that I could not really say thank you to my mom and get an acknowledgement.

Once all the gifts had been opened and everyone had gone to their respective rooms to play around with their new gifts, my mom and I stayed downstairs in the living room. For a few minutes, it was just silent. Neither of us really knew where to start. "Mom, I didn't…" I tried to say before she interrupted. "Grace, don't." She said before taking a deep breath. "Why didn't you tell me?" She asked. "I didn't know how to. I know how messy everything was in the past, but it's different now, Mom. He loves me, Mom, and whether you want to believe it or not, I love him." I admitted softly. "How long have you been together, Grace? Were you hiding this at Thanksgiving?" She asked. "No. We've only reconnected recently, and I swear it was completely coincidental." She sighed and took her head in her hands. "Well, what do you want me to say?" She asked. "I don't know…that you don't hate me?" I said, teary eyed all over again. She slowly moved closer to me on the couch, taking me head and pressing it to her chest; I wrapped my arms around her. "I could never hate you, Gracie. I love you." A beat. "I just want you to be careful. I just want you to be careful." She repeated.

"And August?" I dared to ask. "I need a little more time before he comes over here, and I don't know about you staying with him overnight." She said hesitantly. I could tell she was nervous about the whole thing. I felt like I should be consoling her a little as well. "Just tonight?" I pleaded. She sighed. "Tonight. Other than that, stick to daytime visits for me, please?" She asked. "Alright." I agreed. I was not sure how this had all worked out for the time being, but I was glad it had.


	10. All Grown Up

It was Christmas night, and after a relatively normal family dinner considering everything, I was getting ready to see August. Standing in my bathrobe and drying off my hair from my shower, I stared down at the open drawer before me. I had one set of lace lingerie. It was light blue and something I brought a few years ago on a rush of hormones; You know, I never thought I would actually use it. I knew I was going to have sex again at some point in the future, but not with sexy lingerie necessarily. Sexy lingerie is sort of sacred, you know? At least to me for some ridiculous reason, I guess. After a few moments of consideration, I put on the lingerie, looking in the mirror to making sure I did not look too awkward in it; Then, I slipped on his green shirt and some pajama pants. I planned on surprising him with the lingerie and his shirt like girls do in the movies for their boyfriends? I mean, guys always seem to like that sort of thing in the movies, and while I rarely take stuff from movies, it seems like it would be true. Plus, maybe this will reassure him that I am all grown up. Well, maybe not all grown up, but that I am older and more confident. I mean, I am really the one that seems to care about the age difference this time around, but he has to think about it sometime. This will…this will just be good.

After I was dressed, I packed a small bag with clothing for tomorrow to spend the day with him as well as his Christmas present. "Mom, I'm leaving. I'll be back tomorrow." I shouted simply as I flew down the stairs. I knew it was still weird. I mean, a part of her had to know that by spending the night with him we were going to have sex. She knows I am not a virgin, but I doubt it still is an ideal activity of hers for me. Regardless, I waited for her to shout back. She was not responding. "Mom!" I shouted louder. "Grace. Can't you go tomorrow? It's Christmas night and Judy said she might stop by later." She shouted back. I sighed and thought for a moment. "Mom, it's just tonight." I shouted back. I could hear her coming down the stairs then, ready to put on her best pleading face. "Grace, I'm trying to work with you on this, but tonight, your aunt is coming, and…I…I just want you here tonight. I need you here tonight, ok? Please stay?" I looked her in the eye and tried not to show my displeasure in my face. After a moment of silence between us, I finally gave in. "Ok, I guess I'll stay." I said, disappointed but smiling slightly anyway. "Good. She'll be here any minute." Mom said before giving me a smile and a hug and heading back up the stairs. I was alright for a couple minutes, but then the rush of frustration hit me all at once and I headed downstairs to Eli's room. I needed to vent.

"Eli, it isn't fair." I said with tears in my eyes. I did not mean to get so emotional, but I could not help it. I slowly paced back and forth in his room as he sat on the bed. "Grace, it's a lot for your mom. You have to go slow. I mean, I'm not going to judge, but I don't even really know who this guy is." He reasoned. "I know, I just wanted tonight…and now Judy's coming and I know my Mom is going to tell her and I…I just wanted tonight, Eli." I admitted before finally taking a seat next to him on the bed and putting my face in my hands. "Well, can't you sneak out?" He asked after a few silent moments of just rubbing my back, trying to figure out some way. "I already did that and failed miserably. That's how this all got out." I replied with a sigh. "Oh." A beat. "What about him sneaking in?" He asked with a raised brow.

"What?" I asked as I brought my head back up, sure I could not have heard him correctly. "Have him sneak in through the door down here. I won't say anything." He said easily. "Eli, that's not only impossible, but crazy as well; if my mom ever found out she would kill me…and you for just recommending it probably." I reasoned. A little part of me actually thought it was an amazing idea though. "Grace, I've done it tons of times. No one comes down here. It's just my room and the small guest room, and I'll let him in if you really want to see him." I thought for a minute. This was a really horrible idea and I was not even sure if August would go for it, but I still said yes, gave Eli a kiss and hug to show my gratitude, and went upstairs to call August and tell him to come around midnight. I told him that I just wanted to give him his gift, and really it was the truth; I just left out the sexy lingerie and the guest room part because I knew he would not go for it unless it was spontaneous. I mean, he sounded a little unsure about just picking the present up. I could not blame him either. After everything that had happened in the past with my family, I would be afraid to just look at picture of my house, let alone come to it in the middle of the night.

Aunt Judy came over around eight and handed out gifts. She gave me a certificate to her shop for whenever I came back to town in the future and needed some reading material as well as a red sweater that seemed soft and warm. She stayed for only a short while, and throughout the whole visit, I was on pins and needles wondering if my mother would say anything. Luckily, and somewhat surprisingly, she did not. Once Aunt Judy was gone, the night had officially been worn out and everyone went to bed early. I snuck downstairs, still in my pajamas with the lingerie underneath. "Grace. You really sure about this guy?" Eli asked as I heard August knock on the back door. "Yeah. I'm sure." I answered with a nod, waiting for Eli to close the door to his room before opening the door for August.

"Grace, I really shouldn't be here." He said the moment I opened the door, obviously nervous. "It's alright. Everyone's asleep." I said as I brought my hand up to cup his cheek and smiled. I could not help but smile when he was around. "Grace." He repeated, nudging my hand with a slight move of his head to embrace my touch. "You want your gift?" I asked as I pulled back my hand and continued to smile like a fool. He blinked when I pulled my hand away, but nodded and went along with me anyway. "Well, that is why I'm here, in the freezing cold outside your much forbidden house." He said swiftly with a small smile. I rolled my eyes before turning around to get it in the room. "Come on." I said, expecting him to follow. "I'll wait out here, Grace." He replied casually. "Why? Afraid of taking three steps inside my house?" I said in a teasing tone as I turned back around to face him. "Frankly?" A beat. "Yes. It's not exactly your house, and I know I can't possibly be on anyone in your family's good list." "You're on _my_ good list, August." I insisted with my grin still bright. I was not going to lose hope so quickly; I could not do that with my sexy lingerie on. "I know. That's why I'm here."

I rushed back close to him, kissing him then. "So, come on in. Don't be afraid." I whispered against his lips. "If not for your present, do it for your shirt." I said with another smile. "What do you mean my shirt?" He asked with a small laugh. I pulled back to allow him another look at his oversized green shirt that was on me. After a second to let him realize it was his, I started undoing the buttons. "Come on." His face straightened up and I recognized his eyes as they went dark with lust and desire at the sight of just the top rim of my lingerie. "This is a bad idea." He said softly, shaking his head. I was not letting him out of this though. I did not say anything else, I just smiled, slowly stepped backwards towards the room, and kept unbuttoning. After a moment of hesitation and a sigh of frustration, he stepped inside, softly closing the door behind him.


End file.
